Great effects, but story a little weather worn

TERRIFYING STORM: After being estranged for many years following the death of their father in a hurricane, the Rutledge brothers, handyman Breeze (Ryan Kwanten), left, and meteorologist Will (Toby Kebbell), find themselves caught in a similar storm while trying to foil the schemes of robbers who raid a Treasury vault in Alabama

IF you like adventure movies with realistic effects, Hurricane Heist should definitely suit your pallet.

The cinematography is blended with images of real storms, giving a frighteningly graphic picture of a Category 5 hurricane and a glimpse into what it must be like to be caught in such a storm.

The movie begins back in 1992 when two young boys (Patrick McAuley and Leonardo Dickens) accompany their father in his truck during Hurricane Andrew. After the truck is trapped on the road by a fallen tree, the boys are taken to a nearby house by their father who then goes back to the truck to prevent it from blowing away in the hurricane. To their horror, both boys see a water tower collapse and roll over their father, who is killed.

Twenty-six years later and the youngest son, Will (played by Toby Kebbell) a meteorologist, visits his brother Breeze (played by Ryan Kwanten), who is a small-town handyman, to see if he is leaving because of a coming storm, named Hurricane Tammy. Breeze does not see the point of leaving and chooses to stay. The tension between the two siblings is obvious.

In the meantime the storm is getting stronger and the meteorologists revise their predictions re-categorising it to a level 5 hurricane. The small town is being evacuated by the local police and Treasury agents are anxious to get to the depository with millions of dollars in old notes, ready to be destroyed. Agent Casey Corbyn (Maggie Grace) takes the wheel from fellow agent Randy Perkins (Ralph Ineson) and drives rough-shod over the cars of the townsfolk queuing to get out of town and makes it to the Treasury. However, the storm has knocked out the electricity and they need an electrician to start the generator.

Breeze Rutledge is required and agent Corbyn is sent to find him. However, the lack of electricity is a problem for another reason. The vault where the money is kept prior to shredding is inaccessible, and those attempting to raid the facility under cover of the storm are locked out. But the hackers brought on-board by the heisters also find the code to the vault has been changed and know that only Corbyn could have changed it. Men are sent to find her and bring her back to reset the vault lock code.

But when the storm hits for real the would-be robbers are confronted with unanticipated problems and begin killing people to get what they want. That is where the fun really begins.

This is a good movie but the theme of a heist disguised by some natural event has been done before. Still, the special effects are great and you really do feel you are being tossed in the storm. It’s a good action movie for those who like this genre.